Friday, October 26, 2007

Let's Talk About the Languishing Marketplace

Some real estate soothsayers say the "bubble" is about to burst. Some say it has already popped and are expecting dramatic drops in the price of housing over the next 12 months. And some others say it's all nonsense and the sky-high prices will hold even if fewer folks can afford to buy. Your Mam doesn't have a clue what's to come, but what we do know is that even the rich and famous are not immune to the fluctuations in the housing market. This morning Your Mama is going to look back at three celebrity owned properties that we've previously discussed and which continue to languish on the market, perhaps victims to the upheaval in the mortgage and lending industries and perhaps an indication of a slow down in the electric Los Angeles market.

1. Let's start with one of Hollywood's queens of kookiness Sharon Stone. In February of 2006, the acturuss, who was once offered $1,500,000 to make a "short visit" a Russian tycoon's house, went and bought a big Beverly Hills (Post Office) estate at the tippy top of N. Beverly Drive. For whatever reason, our favorite capricious minx never moved her questionable clothing or children into the place. Just four months after purchasing the 6,640 square foot house for $10,995,000, someone encouraged lovable Miz Cray-zee to put the place back on the market for $12,500,000.

Now babies, we don't know if Miz Stone ever intended to live up in this house or if her bizness manager (or another of her many people) thought she should try to cash in on an exploding real estate market in the Platinum Triangle and encouraged her to buy the place as a flip investment. But what is clear is that the vajayjay baring AIDs activist is going to lose at least a million clams on her impulsive and not well timed real estate maneuver.

After taking the house off the market in the Spring of 2007, Miz Stone put it back on the market over the summer at $11,500,000, a full million dollar price reduction. But alas, no buyers came a-runnin'. Recently, she again lowered the asking price for the 5-acre estate to $10,495,000, a full $500,000 LESS than she paid for the place. Take out the real estate fees, which are likely to be in the neighborhood of $500,000, and poor Miz Stone will be dipping into her Hermes pocketbook to to the tune of $1,000,000. You know she's all sorts of pissed. Maybe she should have taken the Russian tycoons more than generous offer after all.

2. Dirty looking comedian Jack Black should be sitting on top of the world. He's got hit movies, rakes in piles of cash, and has a new-ishwifey and baby. However, his real estate world is not so happy. Yes, the funny man did recently sell a Laurel Canyon house he once owned with his previous lady friend, and yes, he's got a $3,000,000 celebrity worthy new house on Monte Cielo Drive in Beverly Hills which he recently renovated and happens to sit next door to John O'Hurley's optimistically priced house.

But he's also got a N. Beachwood Drive house that he can't seem to unload. The freshly renovated, 2,694 square foot house first appeared on the open market in May 2007 with an asking price of $1,699,000. At one point over the summer it appeared that the house had found a buyer, but the deal must have fallen through because it's still sitting on the market with a reduced and current asking price of $1,529,000.

We're quite certain Mister Black put considerable money into renovating the place, but given that he paid only $720,000 for the property in 2001, there's perhaps a chance he can make some money on this transaction.

3. Staying in the Beachwood Canyon area, we move to Danny Masterson's quaint cottage on Holly Mont Drive. When this property first hit the open marketplace in late April, it had an aggreessive asking price of $1,595,000. It appears that on more than one occasion the actor/Scientologist/DJ/real estate investor had the place sold. But apparently the deal(s) fell apart, because the modest house remains on the market for $1,480,000. We can only imagine that Mister Masterson is eager to unload the place given that he and his gurlyfriend, the once wild child Bijou Phillips, bought the old Chuck Berry house a few blocks away for $2,995,000.

Like Jack Black, Mister Masterson may have some wiggle room before he is forced to take a loss on the transaction. He paid just $580,000 for the house back in 1998.

I have thought for a long time now that we are living through the collapse of civilization,not just here in North America,but worldwide.I am sure that there will be rich people always willing to spend huge sums of money on real estate,but just look at what's happening to the environment,fires,floods etc.We had a full blown summer in New York almost till the end of October.This has never happened before.As for the economy,well I think the bubble has started to deflate.I own a high end retail shop here in Manhattan and let me tell you when the rich stop buying,as they have this month,you know that's not a good sign.Good luck everybody!